Top spots open on NSU men's team

COLLEGE BASKETBALL:

October 15, 2013|By Ryan Deal, rdeal@aberdeennews.com

American News Photo by John Davis

Starting spots, minutes and points are up for grabs this season.

The Northern State men’s basketball team officially starts practice today to begin the 2013-14 campaign. The Wolves went 20-11 overall last season and 14-8 in the NSIC. NSU lost its top four scorers from last season, including seniors Collin Pryor, Dustin Tetzlaff and Geoffrey Firmin.

“It is a lot of fun to see who is going to step up,” Northern State coach Paul Sather said. “We have got some really good young players, but we have got 10 returners -- guys whose roles are going to change.”

The top returning scorer is Seth Bachand, who averaged 5.9 points per game. The junior forward missed the last 11 games due to an injury and was a reserve player. With the depature of all-conference post players Pryor and Tetzlaff, Bachand will be counted upon to add more scoring from the post.

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“He is kind of an energy guy, not a guy that is getting you 18 points a game,” Sather said, “but with Collin not here and Tetzlaff not here, I think he is a guy that we are going to go to more.”

Sather expects Jared Hannigan (4.2 ppg) to provide more scoring punch this season, along with fellow guard Mitch White (2.6 ppg). Hannigan, an Aberdeen Central grad, started 12 games last season and White started all 31 games.

“Mitch and Jared are two guys that we really leaned on a lot defensively,” Sather said, “but also I think they can give us more scoring. I would like to think we can get more from them scoring the ball.”

Hannigan and Trent Zomer are the two seniors on the roster this season. Zomer averaged 4.7 points and three boards per game from his forward position last season.

“I really like his approach,” Sather said about Zomer. “He is shooting the ball well. He is a versatile player and like Seth you can play him at a couple different spots.”

Sophomore guards Mack Arvidson and Skye Warwick played quality minutes as freshmen and should also see their opportunities increase this season, said Sather. Arvidson scored 5.8 points per game last season, while Warwick was right behind with 5.4 points per game including 47 three-pointers.

They are “two guys that when they got more minutes last year, they responded pretty well,” Sather said.

Guard Darin Peterka and forward Michael Schreiber both redshirted last season and will have four years of eligibility left. Junior guard Tydan Storrusten recently began team activities after sitting most of the last two seasons due to a knee injury. Forward Spencer Pankonin will be a redshirt sophomore after also sitting out last season with an injury.

The Wolves brought in seven freshmen this season. True freshman Carter Evans (6-foot-10, 240-pounds) is expected to see valuable minutes during his first season with NSU.

“We had some situations the last few years where we just weren’t big enough,” Sather said. “Carter gives us that extra size and he is a good athlete as well.”

True freshman Zach Tolson could also be in the mix for playing time his first season with the Wolves. The 6-foot-7 Tolson spent last season playing for Westwind Prep Academy, which is a postgraduate program in Arizona.

NSU will host a traveling team called the Blue Angels All-Star Team on Oct. 29 at Wachs Arena. The Wolves will play at Division I Creighton University two days later in Omaha, Neb., in an exhibition game. NSU’s regular-season home opener is Nov. 12 against Jamestown College.